RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Non-equilibrium conditions inside rock pores drive fission, maintenance and selection of coacervate protocells
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.07.08.451414
DO 10.1101/2021.07.08.451414
A1 Alan Ianeselli
A1 Damla Tetiker
A1 Julian Stein
A1 Alexandra Kühnlein
A1 Christof Mast
A1 Dieter Braun
A1 T-Y Dora Tang
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/09/2021.07.08.451414.abstract
AB Key requirements for the first cells on Earth include the ability to compartmentalize and evolve. Compartmentalization spatially localizes biomolecules from a dilute pool and an evolving cell which grows and divides permits mixing and propagation of information to daughter cells. Complex coacervate microdroplets are excellent candidates as primordial cells with the ability to partition and concentrate molecules into their core and support primitive and complex biochemical reactions. However, the evolution of coacervate protocells by fusion, growth and fission has not yet been demonstrated. In this work, a primordial environment initiated the evolution of coacervate-based protocells. Gas bubbles inside heated rock pores perturb the coacervate protocell distribution and drive the growth, fusion, division and selection of coacervate microdroplets. This setting provides a primordial non-equilibrium environment. Our findings describe how common gas bubbles within heated rock pores induce the early evolution processes of coacervate-based protocells, providing a compelling scenario for the evolution of membrane-free coacervate microdroplets on the early Earth.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.